Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.

Visiting Oxford?

Allow me to be your guide... and discover the history of Oxford with an Oxford historian.

I offer a wide range of guided walks around the city and university. These can be a general introduction to the history and architecture or looking at specific themes and subjects.

I am a Catholic and a historian based in Oxford, where I am a member of Oriel College. My research, for a long delayed D.Phil., is a study of Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln in the second decade of the fifteenth century. I also work as a freelance tutor in History and as an independent tour guide.
I was received into the Church in 2005 and am a Brother of the External Oratory of St Philip Neri at the Oxford Oratory.

Search This Blog

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

St Thomas Cantilupe of Hereford

Today is the feast
of St Thomas of Hereford, a day which is observed here in Oxford in that
he was born in Buckinghamshire and that he served as Chancellor of the
University. My post from last year about him,
with its links and pictures, can be seen at St Thomas of Hereford.To the links I would add this site about his life which can be read here.

A conscientious Bishop of Hereford from 1275 his
conflict with Archbishop John Pecham of Canterbury led to his
excommunication and his journey in March 1282 to appeal to Pope Martin
IV. Although he
received absolution, he died of fever on 25 August 1282. His bones were
brought back to Hereford and buried in the north transept. It is this
tomb which has been restored in recent years as a new shrine. On Easter
Monday 1287, a series of miracles began, which lasted well into the
fourteenth
century.

When
reviewed by Commissioners in 1307, over 400 miracles had been recorded
– second only to St Thomas Becket in Canterbury. These are well
documented in the surviving canonisation depositions. Modern writers,
such as Canon Bannister, the great early twentieth century historian of
the cathedral in Hereford, may have tended to be sceptical about how
medieval people misdiagnosed illnesses or seeming death, but the
accounts are rich in circumstantial detail. In consequence Bishop
Thomas Cantilupe was
canonised in 1320 and 2 October was designated as his feast day.

On 25 October 1349 his remains were translated to a new shrine in the
Lady chapel and new effigies of bishops were provided either side of
the processional aisles, to lead pilgrims to the greatest of all the
bishops, the new saint of Hereford. At the same time, offerings at the
shrine of St. Thomas helped
re-build parts of the cathedral – notably the central tower, with its
ball-flower decoration.

In
the late fourteenth century, the cult of St. Thomas declined - there
are fashions in saints as in most things - and in
the late 1540s, the shrine itself was destroyed, and the relics
dispersed. However, devotion to St. Thomas continued in a modest fashion
and there is evidence of his relics being used in a procession in
Hereford in 1610, to ward off plague. (Adapted from Hereford cathedral
website with my own comments on the miracle evidence and the fashion in
saints.)

The skull of St Thomas is now preserved in a reliquary at Downside Abbey.

Last year I
wrote that there appeared to be no contemporary depictions of him, although it
is recorded that he had red hair, and the corresponding temperament.
However I had forgotten his own public image on his episcopal seal:

Seal of Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe.

Legend: TOMAS DEI GRATIA HEREFORDENSIS EP(ISCOPU)S (Thomas by the grace of God Bishop of Hereford).
The arms of Cantilupe ancient are displayed on each side of the bishop: 3 fleurs-de-lys. Hereford Cathedral Archives 6460.

Image:Wikipedia

There is also this stained glass figure from the time of his canonisation. The artist appears to have given him red hair.

St Thomas of Canterbury and St
Thomas of Hereford

Stained glass in Credenhill Church, Herefordshire.

This
has been dated to circa 1300, but I suspect that it dates from the time
of the canonisation of St Thomas in 1320. The pairing with St Thomas of
Canterbury is significant, and may point to the number of miracles
attributed to their intercession.